Ep. 96 - The Art of Playing Badly Well

Tennis IQ Podcast

In this episode, Brian and Josh reflect on a quote by golf legend Jack Nicklaus: “The worse you’re performing, the more you must work mentally and emotionally. The greatest and toughest art in golf is ‘playing badly well.’ All the true greats have been masters at it.”

The co-hosts discuss how this applies to all tennis players who will inevitably, at some point or another, have days when they are playing badly. Utilizing mental skills on the days when tennis players aren’t playing well is often the difference between a player giving themselves a chance to be successful, and not fully engaging or tanking.

To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds and sport psychology businesses, go to TiebreakerPsych.com and PerformanceXtra.com. If you have feedback about the show or questions on the mental game in tennis, email us at [e-mail] or use the hashtag #tennisIQ on Twitter or Instagram. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Spotify, Apple, Google, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes.